Persevere
by alienmorty
Summary: AU where Eren has to take care of his baby cousin, Armin with his sister Mikasa and meets Levi Ackerman. An aspiring artist with a large dislike for children. Rated M for sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! This is my first fanfic! Please correct me on anything big you find that doesn't fit the character or any grammar mistake. Thank you and I hope you like the story - Luca

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- _The Meeting_ -

If there was one thing Levi disliked, it was children (and mess). No, screaming children. With drool flooding out of their mouths and that screeching hyena noise that came out of it, it all drove him nearly mad. Children, when they were sleeping were absolute angels, but any other time, Levi found it hard to like them.

That's why, whilst on the bus to work, Levi was fuming. He could have had steam coming out of his ears. His sharp, thin eyes glaring at a wailing kid that struggled in the arms of his wide-eyed father. No, the boy looked far too young to be a father, maybe a brother?

The boy was repeatedly shushing the child, but of course it wouldn't listen. You could see the maddening blush set on the boy's face, as the few people on the bus stared at him. Levi continued to glare at both of them, and he was sure the boy noticed too, as his pink face suddenly went pinker. But he just couldn't just shut the baby up.

There were two more stops until Levi would arrive at his workplace and he was absolutely sure he wouldn't be able to stand the crying any longer. So Levi stood up, his undercut styled hair falling across his eyes as he made his way to the boy and the child. The boy looked slightly frightened, I mean who wouldn't be?

If a short, pale man who had been glaring at you for the past three minutes, made his way to you in a 'I'm so pissed off that I'm calm' manner anyone would be scared! Levi looked up at the boy, raised his brow as he squared his shoulders and bent down a little to be level with the child.

The child looked up at him and Levi put one of his thin, elegant hands on its cheek and smiled. The child instantly quietened and grinned and made weird googly noises.

Levi had learned this trick when he was in his early 20's, he was on the streets, starving and thirsty, he used have to beg and the best people to beg to was mostly parents. Of course, parents would never let a filthy horrid-looking man near their kids, so Levi had made sure to clean every inch of him, which was hard sometimes, but he managed to look clean enough. Levi would talk to parents, and kids would instantly warm up to him for some unknown reason. Those that were crying would stop when Levi smiled at them. Then he would put up an act, saying he needed change for the bus or something similar and the relieved parents would help out.

The boy holding the child had a look of pure shock mixed with relief on his face.

"I- how- Thank you," He said, an embarrassed smile widening across his face.

Levi nodded, he had done it for himself, he couldn't handle the noise. He replied with a simple 'It's fine' and walked back to his seat.

He felt the boy's eyes on him as Levi looked out of the window. The next stop was his. Levi stood up again, standing near the bus door as he pressed the button that let the driver know that he was getting off at the next stop. The boy with the child stood near the door too.

"You're getting off at the next stop then? Me too!" the boy said, still smiling. He looked like a child himself, a wide smile and excited huge eyes.

"Tch," Levi clicked his tongue, but the boy didn't notice.

"Yes, I work at the Shinganshina building," he said. Levi wouldn't normally tell a stranger anything about himself, but this kid looked so annoyingly excited, he hoped it would make him stop talking.

"Wow! I live just a street behind! I can't believe I've never seen you. Isn't that the place where those artists get together and do artist stuff? My name's Eren by the way," Eren said, he was very talkative.

"I'm Levi. Yes, we artists do get together and do 'artist stuff'," Levi said politely, Eren seemed lively and overly excited and even though he was quite cute, he was the type of person who would irritated Levi.

Eren's mouth opened as if to say something, but the child he was holding interrupted with a loud gurgle. Eren looked down at the little boy, and smiled even wider and nuzzled the child. Levi felt a little uncomfortable and was thankful when the bus came to a stop and he hurried out. Eren caught up with him, they _were_ going the same way.

"His name's Armin. He's my cousin, his parents passed away so me and my sister take care of him now," Eren said, his voice a little sad.

Levi hadn't asked. He nodded at Eren, so he wasn't the father. I mean he did look a bit too young. Eren had lightish brown hair, resting in a messy middle parting. He had slightly defined cheekbones and a roundish chin. His tan skin contrasted well with his unusual sea green and blue eyes.

"I see. How old are you? You seem a little young to be taking care of a child," Levi asked. More curious than worried.

"I'm 19, but it's not all that bad. This little goofball is the sweetest! A little noisy, though aren't you?" Eren began talking to the Armin child in that weird voice parents talk to their babies with. He seemed to really love the brat, and he was 19! Levi was way older and he would still never me able to take care of a baby.

Levi was in his early thirties, but he sure didn't look it. He was only a tad bit shorter than Eren, reaching up to just his chin. He had coal black hair, the complete opposite of his nearly colourless skin. He looked as if he'd never seen the sun, but it suited him just fine. Levi's eyes were the colour of a Vera Cruz Amethyst. The specks of black in his eyes swam in and out. Levi had a deceptively young face, with a sharp chin and wrinkle free face, despite his almost permanent frown.

"Oh, I see. I'm getting a little late so I'll go ahead," Levi said quickly, seeing the Shinganshina building come into view, he speed-walked to the front doors.

"Oh, okay. Bye! See you later!" Eren shouted after him.

That Eren boy was weird. He was so cheerful even while taking care of a damn baby at his age. It must be hard, and the mess that children make! It must take ages for Eren to clean his home, Levi thought.

Although Eren was the type of person that annoyed Levi, the irritation didn't stop the boy from filling up his thoughts the entire time he was at work and when he got home to his apartment.

Levi went straight to bed, hoping sleep would erase the boy from his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

So Chapter two! It's in Eren's point of view and mostly about Eren and Mikasa but theirs a little bit of Levi too. I hope you enjoy and please review!

Chapter 2 -

Eren woke up to the shrieking of Armin. Sometimes the crying still shocked him, even though he'd been with Armin for eight months now. It did take a while to get used to, well, for him it did. Mikasa mastered the complex art of taking care of children in one month. Eren had no idea how she got used to things so fast, but Mikasa was good at nearly everything, especially at getting used to big changes in her life.

Mikasa was Eren's adopted sister. She was the same age as him and she had been adopted when they were both nine years old. They had met in the orphanage where Mikasa was living for a while. Eren's father was a doctor, he would take him along to the orphanage sometimes to meet the other children and that's when he had seen Mikasa.

She was different than the other children. She wasn't crying, she wasn't screaming, she wasn't having a fit. She simply stood, with a straight face, almost like a doll. Her shoulder length jet black hair shadowing her sharp features. Strawberry lips pursed as her gleaming black eyes glared at everyone in the room. She was the only person that interested Eren, so he walked to her and waved. She didn't notice him at first. Only when he put his face close up to hers, she blinked and shivered a little and then took a step back.

"You look cold," Eren had said to her, taking off his own red scarf and putting it around her neck. She stared at him a little and then buried her face into his scarf. Eren had heard her mumble a little "Thank you," and after that they had talked a little. Every time Eren would visit the orphanage, he would find Mikasa and they would play. According to his mother, Eren never stopped talking about her.

Mikasa's parents had been killed by some burglars, right in front of her. The only reason she had gotten away was because she was in her Mother's embroidery room. It was a small room, unnoticeable if you didn't know it was there. Her parents had run out into the hall when they had heard glass shatter, and were shot dead on the spot. Mikasa had stayed quiet, despite the fear, the numbing feeling as she saw her Mother and Father's bodies fall onto the floor, almost in small motion momentarily took away her ability to make any noise. Instead, she had simply shut the room's door, quietly as she could and locked it. She had stayed in the room for two days until she was found.

When Eren told his mother about this, insisting she had to come live with the Yaeger family, his mother just had to agree. Eren and Mikasa must have been the closest siblings ever after that.

She still had the scarf, even ten years later. Eren had no idea why she still kept it, and how she kept it looking the same. Eren didn't ask, he thought it was weird, but he liked it. It was a memory.

Eren got out of bed, jogging to the kitchen to get Armin's milk. He warmed it up by putting it in the microwave for thirty seconds and ran back to his room to feed Armin. He picked him up, cradling him in his arms as he rocked back and forth, putting the bottle in Armin's mouth.

"Eren! Eren! Wake up," Eren heard someone whispering. He grumbled a little, he was too tired. "Eren!" he heard the voice again, followed by a little cry.

Eren jolted awake, his eyes rapidly scanning the room until they landed on Mikasa shushing a crying blonde haired child. Armin! Eren stood up, walking over to Mikasa and taking Armin from her.

"What happened? Why is he crying? Did you feed him?" Eren asked. Shushing the bright blue eyed kid himself. Armin had always seemed to quieten more quickly sometimes with Eren. Probably because he was the one mostly with him. Mikasa usually worked late hours sometimes,

"He was crying on the floor when I got here! You must have dropped him when you fell asleep. Eren, you need to be careful where you fall asleep when Armin's with you," Mikasa said, worry etched on her pure white face. She never did tan.

"Oh, god. I'm sorry, I'm just a little tired. Here, hold him I'll make breakfast," Eren said, handing Armin back to Mikasa after giving him a small kiss.

"Actually, I've got a day off today. I'll make the breakfast. But we need groceries, and the house is a mess so take Armin with you. I'll clean up," she replied.

Eren nodded and threw on a coat whilst Mikasa quickly changed Armin's clothes. Eren put him into a pram and took off after giving Mikasa a quick hug. After leaving the apartment building, Eren began going over everything that was needed. Milk, Eggs, Juice, Carrots, Apples, Strawberries. He stopped when he saw a small grumpy looking man (angel) walking just across the street, in the same direction.

It was the man from the day before!

"Levi!" Eren shouted before he could stop himself. It was just something about the man that just wanted to talk to him all the time if he could. The man turned around, the same frown from yesterday still stuck on his face. Though Eren could have sworn when Levi saw him and Armin his shoulders relaxed a little.

Eren quickly crossed the road, looking left and right and caught up to Levi.

"Hey! Funny seeing you here!" Eren laughed, this was a little awkward. Why did he just run to him?

"Eren, yes? I work close by, I told you yesterday," Levi said, his voice smooth but still intimidating in some way. Eren nodded and smiled a little. They walked in silence together for a while, Eren hastily thinking of something to fill it up. He thought about talking about the weather, but it was nothing interesting. It was just really cloudy, and cold. There was nothing to say! Until they both walked past the Shinganshina building, didn't Levi work here? Why was he walking past it?

"Um, Isn't this where you work?" Eren asked, a bit disappointed that he'd have to say bye now. Why was he so interested anyway?

"Yes. But I need my coffee first, there's a cafe just around the corner if you want to come?" Levi asked, turning his face away for some reason.

Eren, of course without even thinking, replied with an excited 'Yes!' and shuffled along with Levi. Armin was sleeping soundly in the pram, all bundled up and adorable so Eren was free to talk without any cute distractions. But before he was able to say anything, Levi spoke.

"So the baby's asleep? His name is Armin, right? I'm glad he's sleeping" Levi mumbled a little loudly. Eren wasn't sure if Levi was talking to him or himself, since he was still turned away.

Eren replied anyway with a chuckle. "What? Don't you like children?" Eren asked, as a joke, because who doesn't like these slightly annoying balls of love? Levi clicked his tongue.

"No I don't. They're slobbery and disgusting and they always make such a huge mess," Levi said. His face set in a scowl as he looked at Armin. Eren was a little taken aback, this guy sounded like a clean freak, and he was being a little rude.

Eren simply replied with a 'Hm' and carried on walking. They arrived at the Cafe. It looked like a really cosy place. It had hedges lined with all sorts of beautiful flowers, a small brown wooden gate going all around the place. The brick walls were painted with wings, realistic looking trees, names, flowers. The sign above the door had the word 'Wings' painted on with a small symbol that had blue and white feathers facing outwards.

Levi went in first, holding the door open for Eren and the pram to get through. The interior was just as lovely as the outside, every single chair had a fluffy pillow with the same Wings symbol embroidered onto it. The aroma of coffee and cinnamon wafting around the place. The few people here simply sunk into their chairs, their eyes closed and relaxed. Jazz music being played on the piano in the corner by a large blonde haired man. His hands dancing along the keys.

"Wow," Eren muttered to himself as he looked around the place. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the scowl had left Levi's face replaced with a blank expression. Just like Mikasa's.

"This is amazing," Eren told Levi. Levi nodded and walked up to the counter. Eren following behind him.

"Hanji," Levi said. At first Eren thought Levi was talking to him, until the person at the counter screeched Levi and almost jumped over the counter whne bringing Levi into a tight hug. Eren heard Levi grunt and click his tongue.

"LEVI! How are you?! It's been so long since you came here! Are you eating alright?! You're not ill are you? I hope not, what do you need?" This Hanji person asked question after question smiling widely.

"I'm fine, Hanji. We can talk later, this is my friend Eren. I'd like the usual, what about you Eren?" Levi asked. They both turned to face him and just when Eren was about to say something.

"ERWIN! LEVI BROUGHT A NEW FRIEND!" Hanji shouted again, the man playing the piano looked up and waved, his other hand still sliding across the keys.

"Hello! I'm Hanji! Levi's closest friend ever! It's nice to meet you! What's your name? What would you like?"

"It- It's Eren. Nice to meet you to, Hanji," Eren felt a little awkard. He was about to make his order again, when a cry interrupted him. He looked down to see Armin had woken up. Eren quickly but carefully released the belt around Armin, picking him up. Armin started to cry louder, Eren cradled him with one arm and looked for his bottle of milk with the other.

"There there, it's okay, shh, shh," Eren soothed Armin, whispering sweet words to him until he got the milk out. He quickly started feeding Armin, sighing a little. He looked up to find Hanji and Levi both staring at him. Levi's face was blank, but Eren was sure their was some colour on his cheeks. Hanji, on the other hand, was on the verge of tears. Their smile so wide Eren wondered how it fit on their face. Hanji pushed up their glasses, holding their hand on their mouth.

"Is that- Is that a baby?" Hanji whispered, their voice shaking a little. Eren nodded slowly, holding Armin a little closer to his chest now.

"Hanji. That's enough. Let the brat order," Levi said. Did he just call Eren a brat? How was he a brat? He's nineteen! Eren gave Levi a pointed look but Levi just looked the other way.

"I'll go fine somewhere to sit," Levi said and walked away.

Hanji stared at Eren for a while, then at Armin.

"What would you like?" Hanji's voice was quiet now, almost in awe. Eren was a little weirded out, but a small bit of him was touched at the way Hanji looked at Armin and him.

"I'd like a cappucino please, um, how much is it?" Eren asked.

"Three Pounds, thank you," Hanji smiled as Eren gave them the money. Eren put Armin back into his pram, still holding the milk bottle to his mouth and turned with a little wave at Hanji.

Eren's eyes scanned the cafe, landing on Levi who was staring right at him. Eren felt his cheeks go warm and he looked down as he saw Levi quickly look away. Eren made his way to him and sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry about Hanji. They're always that jumpy. They really like children too," Levi said. He had a hint of a smile on his face as he talked about Hanji.

Eren hummed. "It's okay. They seem nice. Do you mind if I ask you something? I hope it's not too rude," Eren asked. He waited for Levi to nod.

"Is Hanji a man or a woman?" Eren asked, a little quietly.

Levi was silent for a few moments, he wrinkled his nose.

"That's none of your business," said Levi, looking straight at Eren.

Eren nodded and began rocking the pram forward and backward. Their was an awkward silence until Hanji walked over. Seemingly calm, but their eye looked as if it was twitching. Hanji gave them both their coffee, and set a small bowl full of thin strips of carrots. Levi gave Hanji a questioning look and they simply replied with;

"I heard babies like carrots," Hanji said with a smile and walked back to the counter.

Eren laughed a little. Where had Hanji heard that from?

"Hanji doesn't identify as a Male or a Female," Levi spoke quietly. Eren gave him a smile and nodded. He checked the time, 12pm. Oh no. He had completely forgotten about the groceries! Mikasa will kill him!

"Oh crap, I was supposed to buy groceries! My sister's gonna murder me! I'm sorry I have to go!" Eren said dissapointedly. He wanted to stay with Levi a little longer. The man was rude but he had this calming aura, and he was unnaturally good looking.

A frown slwoly made it's way onto Levi's face.

"That's a shame, wait just a bit," Levi sounded at least a little dissapointed too, maybe he wanted to spend more time with Eren too! The thought made Eren's stomach flutter.

Levi put his hand into his jacket, pulling out a pen and a small piece of paper. He quickly scribbled something onto it and gave it to Eren. It was his number.

Eren stared at it, then him for a few moments.

"Thanks. I'll call you, um, thanks!" Eren stuttered. His heart could explode. He had the number of an incredibly attractive guy, and he didn't have to ask for it!

Eren hurriedly buckled Armin to the pram again, wrapping him in blankets. He picked up his cappucino, he was glad they were in to go cups, and walking to the door. He waved at Hanji who was waving from the counter, Eren nodded at Levi who nodded back with the same doll like expression.

He hoped to see Levi again, soon, Eren thought as he nearly ran to the grocery store. Hopefully Mikasa might have become a little softer on him.


End file.
